How long should I wait for my BF baby to have a poo before seeking medical advice?

[FeelLikeTweedleDee]

My baby is 3 months old and exclusively BF. How long should I wait for my her to have a poo before seeking medical advice? It's been a LONG time.

SOrry for hijack op...

And while I don't want to make an issue because I think we agree broadly Mayandbump [hsmile] I have heard lots of rubbish on here purportedly spouted by gps who clearly did not "know when they don't know something" and do not once recall (in a thread or rl) any instance in which a gp refered to a bfc, even as an option for a second opinion (though obv this is not an exhaustive analysis!).

I'm not gp bashing, I agree wholeheartedly that many do an excellent job. Just stating that they are, as you say, generalists.

BFC's are specialists.

Can any of the gp's) (and good on you [hgrin] ) on here tell me about the training on bf they reicieved while quaifying? [hsmile]

My experience as a breastfeeding counsellor is that GPs are 'specialists' in being generalists....:) That means they are (in general) pretty good at seeing the whole baby - they can give an informed medical opinion on whether a baby is basically well, and are not usually distracted by what weight the baby happens to be, for example. This can be very reassuring to mothers.

Sometimes, situations arise when (some) GPs undermine breastfeeding by telling the mother to use formula - this is thought to be a benign response to many vague 'problems' such as wind, colic, evening crying, waking in the night, slow weight gain, frequent feeding, tired mother and so on. It is, I'm sure, often well-meant, and it's probably not a 'order' to the mother, but an option, but the mother may not take it that way and may be upset that she is somehow making things worse by bf. This is exactly a situation where a breastfeeding counsellor might help by discussing other options - especially as worries about the basic health of the baby are no longer relevant.

Mine did 16 days. She went the in the pub. She was wearing a vest, dress and tights- sitting in a highchair- about 3months old. It came up her back and hit her hair- down both legs and all around her body. Quick look in pub baby changing- realised no hope- Took her to friends house and hosed her down in the bath.

Should have said- it was in the middle of a big family meal. They were reminiscing only last week- she is 15 and was not totally impressed!

tiktok it is true about what you eat - my constipated (i.e. pellets) baby did much better poos after I had drunk a load of orange juice...

panzee - glad you got your problem sorted, but one experience does not change physiology!

tiktok that is absolutely what happens regarding the formula. Also, it's only since having children that I became aware of the existence of breastfeeding counsellors.

Agree also that we are good at reassuring mothers when there are 'weight concerns' but actually everything is completely fine. Well I think I am anyway

I've never known a site like this for ignoring evidence. Love it. :)

Panzee, one person's experience is not "evidence". I have an almost-two-year-old; every single time her father and I have explicitly arranged to have sex that night, she's slept badly. That's two years worth of data, but I somehow doubt that anyone would accept it into a scientific journal.

Tiktok is qualified and experienced and is talking about basic physiology. You drank orange juice once.

Panzee - more than happy to read any study that links maternal intake of orange juice with resolution of constipation in babies. I am open to new learning all the time.

I don't ignore evidence. I don't think one individual experience is evidence. Even several individual experiences....they might form the germ of a hypothesis, which could then be tested.

It may well be that something in orange juice could remain in the mother's body even after digestion, and somehow affect the breastmilk, because the molecules of certain constituents, like flavourings, do cross the blood/breastmilk barrier....but we can be pretty sure the volume of whatever-it-is would be pretty small. Could this be sufficient to resolve constipation? Your single experience doesn't answer the question.

Oi SeriousWispaHabit!

Sorry - I certainly wasn't saying that all GPs have poor bfing knowledge. It's just that the HCPs that I have met have given me outdated and sometimes plain wrong advice.

Obviously most mnetters are more likely to flag up bad practice rather than pass on good treatment from GPs - but you have to admit, that there have been some right clangers on here recently.

Anyway, hope you see some poo soon FeelLike TweedleDee.

i for one am glad you are out there seriouswispahabbit [hgrin]

Be ready for the floodgates to open. This has happened with all my kids. The nappy will be huge

mollycuddles when I get chance I'll PM you some ideas I had if that's ok.

crikeybadger you're absolutely right and until I had DD1 I could have in no way told you anything much about the actualities of breastfeeding. I also wouldn't have seen the harm in suggesting a bottle or two of formula to 'give mum a break' if tired. You can't shut me up now if I get asked for advice. I'll even demo how to lie down to feed using my examination couch, pillows and a doll

moonfacemamaaaaargh thanks